Enough to Knock Your Teeth Out
by SamisforSamurai
Summary: Lovino had always played the role of the protector, interfering when creeps got too close and personal to him and his little brother. Now that he's older, tougher and unable to mistake for a young girl, Lovino rightly expects the assaults to stop. So when the same thing happens in a dark ally one night, it's no surprise that he comes unglued on him. (Side Romerica)


It was cold and dark and storm-clouds had gathered overhead, sure to spark a downpour at any given moment. Lovino Vargas had been running errands for the better part of the afternoon, and it was starting to get late.

Right as he was about to give up walking and try to hail a cab, his phone rang, and he held it up to his ears. He knew it was his guardian, but before that high pitched, middle-aged annoyance could say anything, he felt a hand grab his shoulder and thrust him roughly against a wall.

Lovino's phone dropped to the ground.

"Hello? Hello? Lovino, are you there?" the woman asked, sounding first pleasant and then irritated. "Pick up, you lazy ingrate!"

Before Lovino could even think to reply, though, the man that was holding him stepped on the phone, effectively cracking it open.

As the microchips and pieces of glass scattered across the pavement, Lovino finally realized the struggle he was in. His opponent was bigger than him and definitely stronger, and right then they had him pinned against a wall. There were only a few moves that could get him out of such a position, but the attacker wasn't using his full strength, Lovino knew.

"That all you got, bastard?" the Italian boy asked, voice rough with anger.

The man laughed, voice even more gravelly. "You have fire. What's your name, beautiful?" he asked, and Lovino could practically see the shark's smile, even if his head was unable to turn much to see it.

"I'll give you more than a name for you trouble," Lovino spat, and just like that, years of practice sparked to life.

An elbow jerked back into his assailant's stomach, making contact with the soft spot where the ribs separated and parted for the stomach and intestines. The man's grunt was satisfying, and Lovino rewarded it by slamming his head upwards, butting the man's chin and neck with his neck. Though it hurt a bit, Lovino was fairly sure he'd made the man nearly bite off his own tongue, and that alone was very satisfying.

In the struggle, the man had released Lovino's other arm, and he quickly put it to use, whirling around to face him. He didn't recognize his assailant, which rather quickly led him to believe that his brother was in no danger, but all the same, Lovino was positively livid.

"You stay the fuck away from me, you got that?" he snarled, giving the man his best left-hook before kneeing him in the groin and shoving him onto the asphalt.

He marched away, only stopping when he was at least a few hundred yards away. Taking a deep breath, he did his best not to focus on the experience, but his hand reached out for the wall, barely preventing him from falling sideways into it. His mind was spinning, and Lovino wasn't entirely sure what to do anymore. He'd fought off that bastard, that was sure, but all the same—he thought he'd seen the end of creeps like him once he grew up and started looking more like a young adult male than a little girl.

True, it had never been quite as bad for him as for his brother, but that was mainly because he was always the one to intervene for Feliciano, always the one to make the touching stop, to swing his little fists at the perpetrator as hard as he could until he decided that they were more trouble than they were worth.

Lovino was always the strong one, always the protector. No one could hurt him, and no one could possibly get away with hurting Feliciano.

But, everything had stopped once they'd grown up a little, gotten tall enough to be unappealing to someone who didn't want a fight and gotten a little more masculine-looking, so that most older men would be uninterested.

Now that he was older, with defined muscles and broad shoulders and an unmistakably male face, shouldn't everything have stopped?

Maybe it was just a fluke, a freak occurrence, but the thought that everything from his childhood was repeating itself was enough to make him panic a little, breathing speeding up.

He wished he could just call someone to pick him up, but his phone had been crushed in the fight, and frankly he felt as if the same situation would possibly occur again if he tried—after all, he'd been on the phone when he was attacked.

Waiting for the area to clear completely, Lovino slipped onto a bench, exhaustedly leaning his head between his knees and took deep breaths, trying to make sure he didn't hyperventilate. Just when he was starting to calm down, though, he felt a hand on his shoulder.

Lovino very nearly jumped out of his skin, hands curled into fists before he even knew what was going on. His fists pounded against the intruder, giving him a few good punches to the stomach before he heard the other's coughs. It wasn't until he saw the man backing away that he realized he hadn't even put up a fight, just let himself be punched.

After a brief hesitation, he finally looked up at him, expression wary. Realizing that he'd technically assaulted the other, he quickly retracted his hands, flushing with embarrassment. "I'm—I'm sorry, I thought you were someone else," he hastily apologized, not really wanting to go to jail when he was sure he'd just been defending himself.

"The man who attacked you in the ally?" the man—or rather, young man, asked, shoving his hands into his pockets as if to prove he wasn't a threat.

Lovino stared, examining him cautiously. "…You saw that?"

The youth nodded, shrugging his shoulders. "I started to come over 'cause I wanted to help you, but… you looked like you had it under control. Wanted to make sure you got home safely so I stuck around for a little while," he explained, pulling his right hand from his pocket and extending it. "I'm Alfred."

"…Lovino," Lovino replied, tentatively shaking the offered hand. "Thanks for, um, trying to do be decent," he said cautiously, yet unsure what to make of him. "Sorry to ask, but is there something you want? I'm just sitting here, and I don't think that guy will mess with me again. Why are you here?"

Alfred shrugged again, apparently unsure himself. "Just wanted to make sure you were alright. Thought you might be hurt since you were hugging your knees like you had a panic attack or something." Mouth twisting into a concerned frown, he added, "_Were_ you having a panic attack?"

"None of your damn business," the Italian snapped, fury evident in his eyes. "Look, I don't even know you, so if you're just going to question me, just leave."

"If you're hyperventilating, it's easiest to stop by plugging one nostril or breathing through pursed lips," Alfred cut in. "The head between the knees thing is just to make sure you're getting enough blood to your brain so you don't pass out."

Lovino flushed red, looking positively irate. "Who said I was even hyperventilating?"

"You're still doing it a little," the American-accented boy pointed out, tone challenging. "Look, I'm not gonna force you to accept my help, but if you need it, I can drive you home so that someone you trust can take care of you. And if you don't want to ride in the car with me, I can give you a phone and you can call someone to pick you up." He shrugged, already digging out his phone. "So don't act like I'm gonna try to do something awful to you, okay? Because I won't. I swear."

There was a thick silence, and finally Lovino pushed Alfred's phone back to him. "Everyone's busy right now. That's why I'm walking." He hesitated, finally running a hand through his hair, feeling as if he were crazy for saying what he was about to. "Look, if you want to help so badly, fine. You can drive me home. Just, whatever. I really don't care."

Alfred nodded, looking relieved. "Will do. After a stunt like that guy pulled back there, it's no surprise that you wouldn't trust me." He tried for a laugh, as if hoping to get Lovino to smile a little. "Nice right hook you got there, by the way."

Still eyeing him a little warily, Lovino regardless flushed at the compliment. "Thanks, I guess," he replied, brushing his hands on his pants. "Which way to your car?"

Deciding it was probably best not to waste his time, Alfred led the way, and within minutes the two were on their way to Lovino's house, with Lovino trying not to get embarrassed at how run-down this part of town was.

Alfred seemed to take no notice, and Lovino was incredibly glad for that, since he didn't think he could take someone laughing at him when he was already feeling so vulnerable.

"That's my house, stop here," the Italian ordered as they pulled up in front of an old flower shop with an 'Authentic Italian Pizzeria' atop it, which was admittedly a bit run-down. When Alfred stopped the car, Lovino wasted no time in getting out, though he did mutter a quick, "Thank you," afterwards.

"Not a problem," Alfred replied, nodding his head. He looked tempted to say something, and Lovino had a good idea what it was, which was precisely why he hesitantly stopped once outside the car.

As though it pained him to ask such a thing of someone that was still a perfect stranger, he finally couldn't help but say, "We're open from ten to ten most days. If you ever want to stop by, feel free to do so. I, uh. Appreciate the ride. Thanks."

Alfred just grinned at him, tossing in a casual wink, and Lovino couldn't help but wonder why it was a wink of all things, since he'd never met someone who'd had the audacity to _wink_—

"I'll stop by Friday, about eight," the American agreed, smiling rather brightly and effectively cutting off Lovino's train of thought. "I'd tell you to take care, but… something tells me you're doing just fine."

And with that, Alfred just winked at him again, driving off without another word, leaving Lovino to simply watch him drive off, disappearing once he turned off of the street.

Lovino lingered outside for a while, not entirely sure what he was supposed to do. He was startled out of his thoughts, though, when the door opened and Feliciano came back, looking worried.

"You alright, fratello?" he asked, coming closer and pulling Lovino into a tight hug. "Did your phone die? Or did something happen? Are you alright, Lovino? You look pale."

Pausing for a moment, unsure whether or not to tell the truth, Lovino finally just shrugged, smoothing his hair. "A creep hit on me but I gave him what for," he explained, ambiguous. "He accidentally stepped on my phone, though. Guess I need a new one now."

It was somewhat obvious that Lovino wasn't telling the full truth, but Feliciano didn't press him further, instead just accepting the explanation and adding it to the evidence of light bruising on Lovino's arms and motioned for him to follow inside. "Let's go inside," he prompted, half tugging on the other's hand to pull him in when he didn't immediately comply.

"Yeah," Lovino agreed, still looking at the street corner where Alfred had disappeared. His stomach fluttered for just a second, and he peered just a little harder around the edge, half hoping the other would somehow still be there.

And as much as Lovino would deny it, Friday had never sounded so good.


End file.
